Don't Worry, I'll Walk
by Jamison Leigh
Summary: Teen!chesters-Sam 17, Dean 21. Sam attends his junior prom against Dean's better judgement. But, the entire family is stunned when that night of fun takes a dramatic turn for the worse. Limp!Hurt!Sam, BigBro!Loving!Dean, Angry!John
1. Shattered Hopes and Dreams on Prom Night

Don't Worry, I'll Walk

Supernatural Teen!chesters, AU

Summary: When Sammy gets a permanent injury, the entire family is affected.

Inspired by the song 'I'll Walk' by Bucky Covington

Part I

Dean ran down the hospital hallway, frantically calling his little brother's name. He had gotten a scary phone call from a nurse at the very hospital he was now in saying that there had been an accident. Sam was only seventeen years old, and it had been his prom night. Despite his better judgement, Dean had allowed Sam to go. On one condition, no drinking and no stupid decisions: Dean wasn't prepared to have another mouth to feed.

He hadn't made conditions for anyone else in town. He probably should have. Dean had broken all speed limits in his haste to get to the hospital quickly. John was on a hunt three states away and was unable to be reached by cell. Dean had cussed audibly and thrown his phone in the floorboard of his beloved Impala. He didn't even apologize to his baby. There was a bigger concern; his real baby brother.

He saw Sam's prom date sitting in the waiting room. She was crying, and holding…oh God. She was cradling Sam's jacket in her arms. Dean approached her gently, and placed a fake-calm hand on her shoulder.

"Rachel, what's going on?" He asked innocently, trying to keep the calm, soothing tone in his voice. She looked up at him and began to sob even more. "S-Sam and I got in a stupid fight. He got out of the car, and said he'd walk home. I let him go…and there was a drunk driver…he didn't see Sam and…" She didn't need to say anything else. He knew the rest of the story without having to be told. He'd ask the cops the driver's name and social security number later. He only wanted to talk to the guy—with his fists.

An elderly man in a lab coat approached the two of them, "Family of Samuel Winchester?" he called. Dean turned, and couldn't help but blurt out "Sam. Not Samuel." The doctor smiled sadly, and walked towards the obviously shaken older brother. "Doc, what's up with my brother?" Dean asked, his voice finally betraying him by revealing the terror that filled his body so completely. "…I hate to just blurt it out like this, but the severe impact of the vehicle caused his lower spinal cord to swell….his legs still haven't recovered from the trauma yet." Dean blanched. "You…you mean, my baby brother's paralyzed?" He whispered. Rachel, who had yet to leave, began to sob fresh tears into Sam's rented jacket.

"It's too early to tell if it's permanent paralysis or temporary. But…he's awake. If you'd like to see him." The elderly man said, knowing exactly what the answer would be. Dean nodded immediately, and gathered his fraying composure. "Alright, but I'm warning you. His appearance might be…upsetting." The doctor mentioned as he led the way to Sam's room. "I've seen him when he's been up for two days straight with the stomach flu, that was upsetting enough." Dean mumbled, trying to lighten the mood any way he could. Dean sent his father a text message that only said. "Sam. Get home asap. Call me soon.-D"

The doctor opened a door, and peeked his head in. Dean could hear the hoarse whispers of his baby brother, and headed straight in without a second word. He was grateful to the doctor for his warning. Sam's head was wrapped with a heavy, gauze bandage. There were all kinds of IVs and monitors poking into Sam's suddenly frail-looking arms. Was this really the same kid that had sat on him that morning until he cried 'uncle'?

Dean's eyes filled with tears as he watched his brother's motionless legs. Sam noticed it right away. "I'll walk. Please come and hold my hand. Right now I'm hurt, and I don't understand. Let's just be quiet. And later we can talk. Please stay. Don't worry. I'll walk." Well, how in the hell was Dean supposed to refuse that request? Especially since it was from his favorite person in the entire world. Dean walked over, blinking the tears out of his eyes and sat down in the unforgiving plastic chair with the piece of cloth pretending to be a cushion. He grabbed one of Sam's hands with both of his own and did something he hadn't done since Sam was a little squirt of four or five and in the hospital with pneumonia. He kissed it.

Sam and Dean exchanged an entire conversation with just their eyes. It was a Winchester boys thing, apparently. Dean ruffled Sam's hair with one of his hands and smirked.

_I'm so glad you're alright._

You and me both, big brother.

_Shut up, smart ass. _

Make me, dumb ass.

_Oh, believe me. I will. Bedpan meet camera phone. Camera phone meet Internet. _

You wouldn't dare.

_Try me, baby brother. Try me. _

…shutting up works for me.

The nurse came in later to check her young patient's vitals and found the two boys fast asleep. Sam was sleeping in the bed, his hand still firmly held in Dean's own tough grasp. Dean was bent over, head pressed into the mattress. The nurse smiled at the scene and quickly checked Sam over before heading out. She didn't want to disturb the two adorable boys.


	2. Who are You When I'm Not Around?

Don't Worry, I'll Walk

Supernatural Teen!chesters, AU

Summary: Sam has been in the hospital for a week, and the boys are getting antsy. And angsty.

Inspired by the song, "I'll Walk" by Bucky Covington

All rights go to their respective owners.

Part II: Who are You when I'm Not Around?

It had been a less than eventful weekend at the hospital as far as Dean was concerned. He had made sure that Sam was comfortable at all times—even going so far as to bring dinner from the outside world in for his baby brother because let's face it, when was the hospital food ever edible? Dean had decided long ago that hospital food was so bad in order to encourage the patients to hurry up, get well and get the heck out of there before they ended up dying of starvation.

Dean was actually impressed with how well Sam seemed to be holding up. He was the same silly, goofy-looking kid he had been before the accident. Most people-including Dean himself- would ask 'Why me?' but Sam was too busy worrying about Dean to even focus on himself and his recovery for the slightest second.

Wednesday night found Sam and Dean sitting in the younger boy's hospital room, eating Chinese food out of the container. Dean found himself staring at his baby brother until Sam glanced over and made the funniest expression. "What are you looking at?" Sam asked, arching a brow questioningly at Dean. His older brother shrugged and sighed, "You, alright? I'm just thinkin'…" "Well, don't do that—it might be dangerous." Sam said with a smartass smirk growing wider and wider by the second on his face. Dean nudged Sam with his elbow ever so slightly.

"No, I was thinkin' about how well you're handling all this." Dean blurted out. Sam's joking expression quickly faded into something a lot more somber. "I would be a blubbering mess," Dean added softly. "No you wouldn't be…" Sam said, just as quiet as Dean's previous sentence if not quieter.

"Sam, I'm trying to give you a compli—"

"Well don't! You never compliment me for things that are important to me, but now—_now_ you want to compliment me?"

Dean's fire went out instantly. His face a blank canvas, not allowing himself to reveal the shock and the guilt that was flaming in his gut. Dean stood wordlessly and walked out the door. Dean kept walking until he made it outside to the parking lot and was sitting on the hood of his Impala with no recollection of walking there.

He wasn't sure why Sam's words were hitting him so hard. Maybe it was because deep down Dean had always thought that he was supportive and understanding of the things that were actually important to Sam, but maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was almost as bad as Dad himself. As a kid, whenever Sammy had had a problem, he would go directly to Dean. It wasn't that he didn't love John, but that it had just never occurred to Sam that John would be an option.

Dean knew that they had drifted apart as the years passed along with the mileage on the Impala. But he had always assumed that Sam knew that Dean was proud of him. _Way to go, Dean. Seriously. _The little voice mocked in the back of his mind. Dean hated that little voice that sounded oddly like his father. Dean flipped out his phone as John's voice reminded him that he hadn't actually heard from his father in days. John hadn't called about Sam, but Dean had left a message with Pastor Jim, Caleb, Joshua and Bobby in case his father showed up at any of those locations.

Dean sighed heavily as he shut the phone, and glanced up at the sky. When Sam and Dean were young kids, they always loved looking at the stars. Because as poetic Sammy put it, stars were the same in every state. They always looked the same. They loved stars so much that eventually a nickname from Dean in the form of "Sammy star" was in constant use. He had called Sam his own personal star. He was the one constant in Dean's life. Sam still was.

Dean stood up and wiped the stray tears from his eyes and headed back up to his brother's room. But stopped outside the cracked door when he heard a quiet, choking sob. Sam was obviously trying not to alert anyone to his distress but the sobs kept getting louder and steadily unable to be stifled or silenced. Sam had been acting brave for Dean, but once alone he had allowed himself to break down. Dean listened silently for what seemed like an eternity before he simply couldn't take it anymore.

Without another thought, Dean opened the door and walked calmly to Sam's side. He sat down on the bed, and reached out his hand to gently stroke Sam's hair. Sam's eyes opened and locked with Dean's own. The hazel eyes filled with more tears and he couldn't help but force them to be released. Dean's heart broke when he heard the whispered, "'m trying to be strong, Dee. But it's so _hard_." Dean wrapped his arms around Sam at that point, and pulled him into his chest just as he had when Sam was growing up into that sasquatch he was becoming.

"Shh, baby, it's okay. You don't have to be strong for me." Dean murmured as Sam released quaking sobs into the comforting arms of his older brother. "No matter how big you get, I'm always gonna be here. Supporting you, being there for you." Dean reassured his little brother, not giving a damn about chick flick moments, just about calming down the most important thing in his world.

They were gonna be alright. They had to be. More importantly, he had to be alright. Just had to be. No arguments.


	3. Papa Bear Finally Returns to the Den

Don't Worry, I'll Walk

Supernatural Teen!chesters, AU

Summary: Guess who finally gets around to checking his voicemail?

Inspired by the song "I'll Walk" by Bucky Covington

All rights go to their respective owners.

**On a personal note, I shall be in the Bahamas for five days so I shall not have a new update until I get to my dad's house. But I do plan on returning to this story, so don't lose interest!**

Part III: Papa Bear Finally Returns to the Den...Yippee!

Thursday saw happy things and sad things. It saw Sam wiggling his toes with a triumphant smile that only matched Dean's own. To be honest, Dean hadn't been that moved emotionally by the sight of Sam's feet since his very first steps. It saw Sam and Dean just sitting on the bed together, Sam's head resting comfortably on Dean's shoulder. Dean was giving Sam a little gift—stories of the mother Sam would never remember no matter how hard he tried. Sam learned many things about his mother, things that he never would have guessed. Things like…her favorite color was a baby blue—which was the color of Sammy's nursery. She loved to be the one who rocked Sam to sleep.

Sam fell asleep with a reassured, easy smile. Something was not seen often enough on the youngest Winchester's face. When all of a sudden, Dean's phone began to ring shrilly. Dean snatched it up and opened it before Sam could even make a grimace of returning to the land of reality so abruptly.

"Hello?" Dean asked, mindful to talk softly in fear of disturbing his Sam's rest.

"_Dean? Where the hell are you? Where's Sam?" _Crap. That voice only belonged to one person…

"Oh…hey, Dad. We're uh…uh…" Dean wasn't sure if Sam wanted their father to know where he was and why he was there. Sam hadn't exactly gotten permission from John to go to the prom in the first place. It was mostly a last day decision.

"_Dammit Dean, spit it out. Where the hell are you boys?" _Dean so badly wanted to say, 'Well where the hell have you been, dear old Dad?' but he'd never say it. Not unless he wasn't addicted to breathing. Dean had tensed at the tone of John's voice, which apparently had disturbed Sam because he was now sitting up and glaring at Dean with sleepy eyes.

'Dad' Dean mouthed at Sam who immediately grew pale. He'd have to admit to what happened. Dean had noticed that Sam was having a problem saying 'paralyzed' but had chosen to ignore the whole thing. Because he wasn't about to push Sam into something he wasn't ready for. Especially something that huge. Sam had recovered from the shock, and held out his hand wordlessly for the phone. Dean—with an unsure expression twisted on his face—handed it over easily to his baby brother.

"Dad, it's Sam. We're at St. Michael's General Hospital in town. Yeah the town you left us in. It's for me. I don't want to tell you over the phone, so you just need to get here and ask for Sam Hayden." John had apparently agreed to what Sam said because he was closing the phone and handing it back to Dean.

It wasn't long before John was standing in Sam's doorway with an expression filled with rage, confusion, guilt, and many other unidentifiable emotions. Dean attempted to stand but Sam's hand suddenly clenched onto his shirt in a show of neediness. Sam was afraid of what John would say. Sam's recovery had been going so well, if John said something to set him back then Dean would certainly have to act. Dean knew that he'd be able to act, he just wasn't sure if he'd be able to stop. Sam was priority number one for Dean.

If Dean had to limit his pet peeves to one thing, he'd probably say uncomfortable silence. Which was what was surrounding him at the moment. Sam was busy looking at his legs, and John was too busy searching the room for any kind of answers. Before any of them could react, Sam's day nurse Sherri entered the room. She was a sweet, older lady who kind of liked to look after the two of them.

"Hey Sam, I spoke to Dr. Reynolds earlier, and he told me about the progress you've made today. I am so proud of you! And, just think. You'll be walking again in no time at all." She said, making direct eye contact with the teenager because she knew that Sam's biggest fear was being unable to walk at all for the rest of his life. John's face didn't betray him, unable to reveal the shock he was feeling internally. As soon as Sherri left, John glared at the two boys.

"Dean, dammit, if somethin' this bad happens, you pick up the phone and you call me."

Dean had to respond to that. What the hell? "What the hell? Dad, look at your phone. I've called _thirty_ times since Saturday night and you've yet to call me back once. I called when I first got the call, when I got to the hospital, after I saw Sammy the first time. And I call after every time I speak to his doctor and his therapists. It's your fault you didn't know about what was going on."

John was taken aback by Dean's outburst, but secretly he understood. He knew how protective of Sam his eldest was whenever the baby was sick. But with an injury this serious, John knew that Dean would be a bigger mother hen than anyone else in the entire world. Sam shifted again and made a face. "Dad, I'm fine now. Honestly. The point is that I'm getting better."

John nodded, "Right. But, don't think for a second that I'll let you off the hook that easily, Samuel Winchester." He said, his voice infused with a dangerous undertone. Sam flinched and looked to his elder brother for support.

"Dad, I think Sam's more than learned his lesson by being in the hospital, don't you?"

Dean received a glare for his troubles from both Sam and John. Sam didn't think he had done anything to 'learn a lesson' for. He also didn't think that it was fair that he was getting punished for doing what everyone else his age was doing. Was being normal a crime?

"Dad, we can talk some more later. But in the meantime, Sammy had therapy today and I know he's tired. He needs some rest." Dean said as he flipped the lights out in the room and laid back down next to Sam. Sam snuggled into Dean's chest and was soon sleeping more soundly than he had when he was a young child.

Dean smiled, and kissed the top of Sam's head. Miracles do happen—he got his baby Sammy back.


End file.
